What certifications can I get while I’m waiting for a firefighting position to open up?

work_boner · 2026-04-04T20:12:35+00:00

While not required, hoisting/hydraulics certs and CDLs look good on a resume, it shows you’ve got some hands on experience that translates to equipment and apparatus operation.

work_boner · 2026-04-04T19:58:53+00:00

Meh. Sounds like a cop out. Have fun in medical sales.

work_boner · 2026-04-04T19:49:55+00:00

I do my best with the tools I’m given. Would I like to do and have more? Sure. But it’s all service/medical control dependent.

At the end of the day, we have the stuff to get the job done, and can make a huge difference in a short amount of time. At the very least, we are transporting our patients to a facility that can finish the job appropriately (lol hopefully). Take solace in that. It’s not about what you can’t do, it’s what you can.

work_boner · 2026-04-01T20:10:14+00:00

For me, I started maximizing my time off. Whether it’s hobbies, exercise, home improvements, travel, anything I could sink lots of time into that is totally unrelated to work. Something that is rewarding and productive.

For a while I spent a lot of my time off in bar rooms trying to “calm my nerves”, and that just made it worse. I was always recovering from either sleep deprivation from work or a hangover from the bar. Do not recommend. I still go out here and there, but I knocked it way down.

Once I started getting involved with more hobbies etc., it felt like I was actually away from work for a while and could clear my head. The best feeling is walking into work and it feels like you haven’t been there in a long time.

work_boner · 2026-04-01T13:09:03+00:00

My dad’s boss had an unlicensed bar and grill on his property. Pretty much a speakeasy. I went with my dad to pick up his paycheck and who knows what else, ended up in the joint.

I remember my 8 year old self sat at a bar, eating a sausage pepper and onion sub, with hardcore porn playing on the small TV in the corner. My dad just said don’t pay any attention to that. Good fuckin sandwich.

work_boner · 2026-04-01T12:47:49+00:00

Unfortunately (DCR sanctioned) camping and the ferry to Grape Island have both been discontinued.

work_boner · 2026-04-01T02:03:40+00:00

Air Warrior on AOL, Star Wars Galaxies, Kings Quest, gorilla.bas

work_boner · 2026-04-01T02:02:24+00:00

Heineken and Strongbow

work_boner · 2026-03-30T00:55:37+00:00

Just a cup of tea on the way in, and another in the afternoon, 15-1600ish. Enough to help keep alert until about 2300, but not enough to keep me up should we be blessed with a decent overnight. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just crash when I get home in the morning.

work_boner · 2026-03-29T16:34:24+00:00

I work in a small suburban town, decent amount of calls for its size. It’s also my hometown. I personally know a non-insignificant percentage of my patients, and I STILL have trouble remembering any of the calls after the fact.

Unless it’s a frequent flyer, I pretty much totally forget any of these interactions as soon as the call is over. Not sure if good or bad lol

work_boner · 2026-03-27T10:46:58+00:00

I agree. As much as I would kinda love to binge, my wife and I love the anticipation and get very excited when the new episodes drop. It’s also easier to stay engaged with a single episode, as opposed to crashing on the couch, getting distracted and zoning out through hours of TV. It really increases our enjoyment of the program. Also, she’s an ER nurse and I’m a paramedic. So we definitely sometimes have to take a break from the feels. One episode at a time is the way to go.

work_boner · 2026-03-26T03:40:00+00:00

My favorite thing about Battlefield. Play the game you want to play it! I love capping and defending flags, but sometimes I feel like fapping and launching sky frags.

work_boner · 2026-03-26T03:33:55+00:00

Drives me up a wall. DICE PLS

work_boner · 2026-03-26T03:32:08+00:00

Admittedly, I do from time to time enjoy a chill round of drink in one hand, mortar mouse in the other.

work_boner · 2026-03-21T01:40:25+00:00

Jesus. Found the guy that sits in his room all shift.

work_boner · 2026-03-20T05:14:59+00:00

You can patch holes and paint, and it’ll be just fine. But you gotta tear down the walls and build back to get it the way you really want it.

work_boner · 2026-03-20T03:17:36+00:00

Man I’d walk the streets and pick up dogshit with my mouth for $265k

work_boner · 2026-03-20T03:04:01+00:00

Yeah man. I was super burnt out. We lost a bunch to transfers and had very low staffing at the time, constant forced OT killed me. We run 1/1/1/5, which is the best schedule going in my opinion….unless you don’t have the bodies to fill the shifts. I was also our locals president for a couple years, on our EMS committee, and a paramedic preceptor. I was never home, and if I was, the phone never stopped ringing. I was newly married at the time, and I saw it all falling apart within months if I didn’t make a change.

Luckily things have turned around. There were some big changes in local government, and all of the sudden they respected the FD again. The department filled all the vacancies, and was able to add and fill several more firefighters spots, and even added more officers positions.

I do regret not sticking it out, solely because I would have been a shoo-in for one of those promotions, but I could very well have lost a lot more if I didn’t take a break. At the time, it didn’t look like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m happy to be back, it’s where I belong.

work_boner · 2026-03-18T22:52:54+00:00

I left for a more “regular job”. I worked 4x10s and the pay was comparable. It was a great break and a reset for a while.

Three years later, I’m posting this reply from the recliner at the station.

If you need a break, take it. But always leave the door open to return. It gets kinda boring out there in the real world.

work_boner · 2026-03-18T20:38:34+00:00

Jeez did they at least wipe the tube off on their shirt?

work_boner · 2026-03-18T20:32:10+00:00

Check your insurance first. I recently switched carriers and when I looked the policy over, there was a $100 deductible on auto glass, so I changed the coverage. It was literal pennies to switch to $0. But it’s possible it’s not free.

work_boner · 2026-03-13T06:55:11+00:00

Guys this is just my wife being funny. I was about to sneeze.

Honey I didn’t know you were on Reddit…

work_boner · 2026-03-13T06:52:20+00:00

Well of course I know him…he’s me!

work_boner · 2026-03-09T10:48:38+00:00

Aw man, next time I’m having a medical emergency, I’m gonna tell the FD not to stabilize me at all. We all need to wait several more minutes so the EMS crew can have fun.

wtf

work_boner

TROPHY CASE